ECOL 1000 1nd Edition Lecture 33 Outline of Last Lecture II. Sheep videoIII. Athlete VideoIV. Human Cloning videoOutline of Current Lecture V. BioreactorsVI. Potential benefits of GMOsVII. Potential limitations of GMOsCurrent LectureGlobal climate change- What is Climate Change?o Climate vs Weather Climate is how the atmosphere behaves over longer periods of time such as 2 or 3 decades Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are now or over a relatively shortperiod of time- What evidence is there that it is human caused?- What are some expected consequences?- What must be done?- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): established in 1988, leading international body for the assessment of climate changeo Goal: to provide the world with a clear scientific view on the current state of knowledge in climate change and its potential environmental and socio-economic impactso Reviews and assesses the most recent scientific, technical and socio-economic info relevant to the understanding of climate changeo Does not conduct research or monitor climate related data or parametersThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.o Many volunteer o Intergovernmental body open to all UN and WMO members 195 countries are members of the IPCC- Greenhouse effecto Most solar radiation reaches Earth’s surfaceo Some is reradiated back into space as heato Some is trapped by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and warms the planet- “Enhanced greenhouse effect” warms the planet even more than usual- Different surfaces have different albedoso Ice and snow reflects most solar radiation awayo Ocean only reflects a small portion away-most is reradiated as heat- Temperature changeo Every year warmer than preceding decades averages o In stable climate periods, extreme temperatures are infrequent- Physical evidence that the “average temperature” curve is shifting to the right (getting warmer)o Air temperature near the surface increases (troposphere)o Snow cover decreaseso Warmer temperatures- NOAA National Climatic Data Center (NCDC): one of the world’s premier centers for archiving, processing, and researching climate data- there is a strong correlation between human population growth and increased CO2 emissionso about 1 ton of CO2 added to the atmosphere per person per yearo long-term storage of carbon in the form of burned fossil fuelso Mauna Loa Laboratory, Hawaii Keeling Curve measures atmospheric carbon dioxide Plants take up CO2 during the year The last time CO2 regularly reached this level was 3-5 million years ago-before modern humans existed- Know this by looking at ice cores- Carbon comes in two stable isotopic formso Carbon12 is more common and lighter than carbon13o Because carbon13 is heavier, it is left behind during photosynthesis-plants tend to not take it from the atmosphereo Stable Isotope
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